This invention relates to mazes, and in particular to a rotary-multilevel maze having a serpentine solution path or sequence for passing a traveling element from one end of the maze to the other.
The maze of the invention is intended to be sold as a toy for amusement purposes. Common mazes currently in existence comprise many different types and structures. The most simple, single-dimensional maze, is one employing a tilting planar surface having a path passing periodically adjacent to or between apertures in the surface of the maze. A ball traversing the maze will fall through one of the apertures unless the skill of the operator causes the ball to traverse a serpentine path. In a variation on a concept of a single level maze, U.S. Pat. No. 3,406,971 discloses a multi-level maze which requires the operator to cause a ball to traverse a labyrinth path in three dimensions.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,376,537 discloses a rotary puzzle which requires shifting of puzzle elements. The elements are a series of balls maintained in aligned axial holes thoughout the body of the device. A variation is found in U.S. Pat. No. 3,610,628 which requires rotation of stacked elements until a ball hole is aligned for passing a ball vertically through a direct path from the top to the bottom thereof. Yet another, and simpler, variation is found in U.S. Pat. No. 772,281 which provides a device having a series of rotatable plates at spaced intervals. The plates have a series of holes and depressions therein in order to either pass a ball therethrough or capture the ball in one of the depressions.
None of the prior art provides a rotary type of maze with a challenging serpentine solution path extending from one end of the maze to the other, with the passageways of the path being attained only by rotation of the maze elements to align certain of the elements and the apertures therewithin. With the recent popularity of rotatable alignment-type toys, a more difficult and challenging rotary maze is required.